Gambhir to Captain India in West Indies ODIs

Gautam Gambhir will captain India’s limited-overs cricket team on the upcoming tour of the West Indies, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced Friday.

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Gautam Gambhir plays a shot during World Cup 2011 final between India and Sri Lanka.

Suresh Raina will be vice-captain of the squad, which is missing some of India’s biggest stars, including World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, top batsman Sachin Tendulkar and bowler Zaheer Khan, who are being rested after a grueling run of tournaments and series.

All three will be available for the West Indies Test series, which follows the ODIs, the BCCI said on its website. India will play five ODIs against the West Indies from June 6 to June 16, followed by three Test matches on June 20, June 28 and July 6.

Tendulkar’s opening partner Virender Sehwag is also missing from the list as he is suffering from a shoulder injury which ruled him out of the Delhi Daredevils’ last few matches in the ongoing Indian Premier League. Ashish Nehra also misses out because of injury. The BCCI didn’t say if the two players would join the squad for the Test matches.

Other notable absentees from the list include S. Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha and Piyush Chawla, while elder statesmen such as V.V.S Laxman and Rahul Dravid will also remain at home.

Gambhir was widely expected to take on the role of captain in the absence of Dhoni after he led India to a 5-0 ODI series win against New Zealand last year. Gambhir played a key role in India’s World Cup final victory over Sri Lanka, when he scored 97 runs, and he has since led Kolkata Knight Riders to the cusp of the IPL qualifiers.

What do you think of the squad and of Gambhir’s selection as captain? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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